Same here. As a R user, I have scratched my head every time I’ve seen or read a rant of the “horrible” eye AF. I find face detect to do the job of nailing the eyes in focus every time, even at f1.2. Many “reviewers” obviously haven’t even bothered to try out the face detection.

Capture the moment!

I don't own an R yet (waiting for next level up), but I can say definitively that I miss the touchscreen AF point control from the M series as I use 5D4s. Once you are able to whip the focus point around so quickly at will, you don't want to go back. I think people who need to rapidly move the point from one side of the screen to another recognize this, but lots of people are just poking the AF point one or two notches in a direction, and a joystick might feel more positively controlled for those folks. This might explain the diverging preferences. I certainly hope that a pro model in the future doesn't go joystick at the expense of touchscreen AF point control!

I've thought that maybe adding an additional touchsensor/screen in the same location as the joystick might work? Trying to squish your thumb on the screen between your face and the camera while keeping a finger on the shutter release isn't the most convenient thing. Albeit I do love the functionality. But in practical application.. see if you agree with me!

When you're shooting in weather that makes your hands numb and cold and you are wearing gloves of sorts, you do not want to use a touchscreen. Rain or ice or dirt, the joystick has proved itself well for me thus far. And if you are moving only a few notches, the touchscreen is probably going to suffice. Trying shooting moving objects or having to change your composition often and quickly.. with the joystick, you might be slower but you'll be accurate. With the touchscreen, I usually make a few swipes before I place it right where I want it. (still better than Sony!!) You gotta think about subjects without eyes. But I do hope that Canon can see the value in what Sony is offering and do something about it. I don't have the EOS-R but on my M5, it can get annoying pretty quick. Yes, as tech gets better so will the user's ability to execute commands with ease but for now, I think former tech works better for me with all things considered.

EOS 7D MK II

EyeAF allow us to work faster and concentrate on other aspect of photography in wedding/engagement/portrait (lighting, posing, composition, etc). It would be amazing to take picture of kids. Joystick and touch AF isn't fast enough to focus on moving kid.

Just because you don't use it doesn't mean other people don't want it.

EOS 7D MK II

I've thought that maybe adding an additional touchsensor/screen in the same location as the joystick might work? Trying to squish your thumb on the screen between your face and the camera while keeping a finger on the shutter release isn't the most convenient thing. Albeit I do love the functionality. But in practical application.. see if you agree with me!

When you're shooting in weather that makes your hands numb and cold and you are wearing gloves of sorts, you do not want to use a touchscreen. Rain or ice or dirt, the joystick has proved itself well for me thus far. And if you are moving only a few notches, the touchscreen is probably going to suffice. Trying shooting moving objects or having to change your composition often and quickly.. with the joystick, you might be slower but you'll be accurate. With the touchscreen, I usually make a few swipes before I place it right where I want it. (still better than Sony!!) You gotta think about subjects without eyes. But I do hope that Canon can see the value in what Sony is offering and do something about it. I don't have the EOS-R but on my M5, it can get annoying pretty quick. Yes, as tech gets better so will the user's ability to execute commands with ease but for now, I think former tech works better for me with all things considered.

EOS 5D SR

EyeAF allow us to work faster and concentrate on other aspect of photography in wedding/engagement/portrait (lighting, posing, composition, etc). It would be amazing to take picture of kids. Joystick and touch AF isn't fast enough to focus on moving kid.

Just because you don't use it doesn't mean other people don't want it.

EOS M50

Allowing the currently useless m-bar to simply function as the AF button would pretty much solve my biggest problem with the camera, which is that the rear-AF button is just too close to the edge to make this comfortable to shoot with for more than five minutes.

EOS M50

You know, despite all the negative press the R received I keep coming back to it as a great potential backup/secondary camera to my 5D IV. I mean, it takes the same battery, has nearly the same sensor, costs less, takes up less space, is lighter... I do think there is a really nice niche there.

That's exactly how I've been using it. I've even started leaving my 5D IV at home on occasion when I only want to take one body (though I do make sure to bring a couple extra SD cards. For an important professional assignment, I'm not yet comfortable with it enough to make it the only camera and I'd still take the 5D in that scenario, but for the casual shoot this is a great option, and the wireless file transfer seems to work a lot better than the 5D, which for me hasn't worked in months, maybe due to the latest iPhone update, not sure.

EOS 7D MK II

I don’t think so. The problem for me using the “absolute “ setting, and the upper right corner, was that I couldn’t reach the left part of the focusing area without loosing the grip. Further, in absolute mode, the focus point has a tendency to jump to corner while unintended by me.

The “relative” setting is ok, but slower in use, and a bit fiddely.

On the M5 it is much easier to move the focusing point all over the AF area, without loosening the grip of the camera.

EOS 7D MK II

No it's not. I've shot 5 weddings and over 10,000 frames with the R now. The 5Div is miles faster and more accurate. Especially considering I can start moving the AF points as soon as I start lifting the camera.

I say this, even though I feel, on balance, this is the best camera Canon has ever made.

When you say native vs non native canon lenses on the EOS-R is "way superior", in what ways? Focus lock or AF speed? If focus lock, in general or having tested them in the same scenario? AF speed for EF lenses should be the same and doesn't account for superiority in terms of AF lock.. ? Are you using a third party adapter?